PlayStation reveals how to change your PSN name – but update comes with two big catches

Make sure that you're certain about your new name

A detailed view of a PS4 controller as players practice during day one of the 2019 ePremier League Finals at Gfinity Arena on March 28, 2019 in London, England (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

PlayStation players can finally change their PSN names, in a change set to delight everyone suffering with names they're ashamed of.

But it comes with two major catches: the name can only be changed for free once, and switching it up might cause problems for some games.

Many people are still left with names they set years ago, which can often become embarrassing with time. As such, it has become one of the PlayStation's most requested features and people have become more and more frustrated with time.

Anyone can head onto their console or the website and get their name changed straight away. Doing so is fairly simple.

On the PlayStation, head to settings and click through on Account Management, then Account Information, then Profile, then Online ID, where the options should show up. If you'd prefer to do it in your browser, go to the PlayStation website and click on the profile settings in the corner.

But before doing so, it is worth being certain about your new name. While the first change comes free, that happens only once – every change after that will cost £7.99.

PlayStation made clear you'll be able to go back to your old name for free. And those old names will be kept, so that nobody will be able to take your name after you've stopped using it.

The second catch is that some games might stop working properly when a name is changed, PlayStation said. It gave little detail on what those problems might be, but warned that some games could be hit by problems.

"All PS4 games originally published on or after April 1, 2018 have been developed to support the online ID change feature," it wrote in its FAQ. "However, since they have not all been specifically tested with the feature, we cannot guarantee that they will support it."

The company advised players to check its full list of tested games to be sure that changing their name would be safe. It did say that most games being actively played today have been updated to work safely with the new feature.